


You Wouldn't Hex Your Boyfriend

by harryjamespooter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Hogwarts, M/M, Marauders' Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-04
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-13 00:26:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7954927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harryjamespooter/pseuds/harryjamespooter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Remus has a habit of saying things he doesn't mean. Only this time, it involves Sirius Black being his fake boyfriend. And Sirius Black doesn't let things go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [prongsandthedoe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/prongsandthedoe/gifts).



The castle was quiet as Remus walked back from the library. He’d stayed for two extra hours after closing time for everyone else, having told Madam Pince that he needed to catch up on work that he’d missed the week before.

Sirius had begged him relentlessly to not spend another night at the library, but it was a habit that he’d fallen into since about two weeks before. Remus knew deep down that he had another reason to avoid being in the common room, but he didn’t want to address that just yet. He wanted to avoid the issue for as long as possible.

“Remus,” A familiar voice called from the shadows, and the werewolf turned around slowly. His eyes caught on the round and short dark hair, and he tried to hide the surprise in his voice, “Richard. Why are you-?”

Richard Stubbins stepped out of the shadows and raised his eyes to meet Remus’ gaze, “I wanted to talk.”

Remus cleared his throat, “So you… followed me to the library and waited for two hours for me to leave?”

He shook his head, “No. You’ve been going to the library every night recently, and I figured out the time that you come back. I thought I’d come out and meet you halfway.”

Remus tried not to show any irritation on his face as he started to walk slowly, “And you wanted to talk.”

“Yeah,” Richard’s voice was quiet, “About us. Listen, Remus- I don’t know what made you break up with me-”

Remus couldn’t help but snort, having already guessed what Richard had wanted to talk about and finding the predictability of the topic incredibly amusing. He ignored the hurt that flashed across Richard’s eyes, “We were hardly _together_ , Rich. Getting off a few times in the potions cupboard hardly constitutes as a relationship.”

Richard tried to reach a hand out towards Remus’ arm, but the werewolf pulled away quickly.

“I know what I felt, Remus,” He whispered, “It was more than that, and you felt it too. You were finally letting me get close to you. Things felt… natural. And then you suddenly cut me off.”

Remus’ throat felt unnaturally dry as he swallowed thickly, glancing down at the floor. He had perfect reasons for cutting Richard off. He wanted to tell him that, but the other boy would want to know _why_ , and Remus couldn’t risk sharing his secret.

“I think what you felt was fairly one-sided, Richard,” He murmured, “I broke things off because… it was repetitive. Boring, in fact.”

Richard made a noise that sounded like a sharp inhalation of breath, “You’re lying. I know you are. Why don’t we try again? Give me a second chance. Let me get to know you fully.”

Remus felt incredibly uncomfortable. He’d found it difficult enough breaking up with Richard in the first place, but to decline his offer with no solid reason was going to feel ten times as bad.

They turned the corner into the Gryffindor tower, and Remus muttered the password quietly, ducking into the portrait hole.

“You’re not going to discuss this?” Richard raised his voice, “Why are you ignoring me? Stop shutting me out!”

Remus opened his mouth to reply, but no sound came out. He was stuck, unable to think coherently.

“Moony!”

Remus turned his head to the side, his eyes glazing over everyone else in the Gryffindor common room and landing on Sirius, who was draped over the sofa by the fire and floating Fizzing Whizzbees into Peter’s mouth.

“Remus? Are you going to say _anything_?” Richard pressed, his brows furrowing together with frustration.

Remus glanced at Richard, and then back at Sirius, before he opened his mouth and spoke the first words that came to mind, “I’m dating Sirius!”

It was only as the whole common room fell silent and everyone turned to stare at him that Remus realised he hadn’t spoken but had instead _shouted_ the words at Richard.

Slowly, his eyes sought out Sirius, who seemed to be considering what the werewolf had just said. Their eyes met, and Remus tried to communicate with him in the wordless way that they’d learnt to do. _Don’t say a thing. Stay silent. I didn’t mean it._

He didn’t listen, and instead leapt up and grinned wickedly at Remus, “Moony! I thought we decided we weren’t going to tell everyone just yet!”

Remus felt his whole body begin to burn with embarrassment. He was frozen in position, completely and utterly lost for words.

“Yes!” Mary Macdonald shouted from her spot by the window, “Mar! You owe me ten galleons!”

Suddenly, the whole room erupted into shouts of glee and groans of defeat as students began to exchange money. Remus’ mouth dropped open in horror as realisation dawned on him. The other Gryffindor students had bet _actual money_ on him and Sirius dating.

He turned to face Richard, preparing an apology, but the words died in his throat. Richard was reluctantly accepting five galleons from Dorcas, who appeared to be just as reluctant to pass it over.

An arm slinked its way around Remus’ waist, and he glanced up at Sirius’ beaming face.

“Sirius-” He started to say, but he didn’t know what to say or how to explain himself.

“Smile and wave, Moony”, Sirius whispered into his ear, his warm breath causing Remus’ cheeks to flush, “We’ve got fans to please.”

Unwillingly, Remus tried to smile at everyone around them that was congratulating them. Sirius shook his head with a smile, “Moony is so terrible at keeping secrets! We were going to wait a few more weeks before we told anyone, weren’t we, love?”

Remus had elbowed him in the ribs, and was about to have some stern words with Sirius for playing along _far too well_ when he felt James throw his arm over his shoulder.

“Well, what a tiring night it’s been! I say we all go to bed, don’t you? Moony has been in the library all evening, and I’m sure he needs some sleep. You too, Sirius. Goodnight everyone! Come on, Pete.”

The four boys trailed into the dormitory and shut the door behind them. It was silent for a brief moment, and then Peter suddenly burst into fits of laughter, clutching at his side as he doubled over.

“Not funny,” Remus grumbled, “Really not funny.”

“Yeah, Pete,” Sirius smirked, “Mine and Moony’s undying love for each other is a serious matter.”

Remus groaned, causing James to burst out laughing a moment later. Remus picked a pillow up and threw it at his friend as hard as he could.

“So,” Sirius leant against the wall lazily, “When did you decide that we were dating?”

“When Richard Stubbins wouldn’t leave me alone. It was a spur of the moment thing, I just wanted to shake him off.” The werewolf sighed, “We can tell everyone it was a joke in the morning.”

James stopped laughing, and caught his breath, “Oh no, Moony. You can’t do that. Did you not see? The whole of Gryffindor house had bet on you two dating. You can’t get out of it now. All the money’s been exchanged.”

“You two didn’t make any bets, did you?” Remus asked hesitantly, wondering if him and Sirius really acted like they were in a relationship _that_ much.

“Well,” Peter started to say, but James kicked his leg out of sight from the other two boys, “Of course we didn’t. We… know you’re not together.”

Sirius leant forwards, his expression more serious as he studied Remus’ face, “Did you see that even Dick Stubbins bet on it?”

Remus paused, finally allowing himself to register that particular thought, “Yes. I did.”

“Are you okay, Moony?” Sirius asked suddenly, his voice gentle. Remus’ gaze met his friend’s concerned one, and he felt his eyes sting slightly. Sirius had an uncanny knack of bringing out all of Remus’ raw emotions at once in a way that no one else could. He suddenly had the urge to bury his head in Sirius’ chest and stay there just to avoid everyone else and the thoughts that were viciously circling around his head.

“I’m fine,” He glanced away, “I don’t care about Richard. It was nothing serious.”

Peter piped up cheerfully, “Clearly, seeing as you’re dating Sirius now.”

“I will hex you,” Remus muttered, his gaze lifting to Sirius and James as they tried not to laugh, “All three of you.”

Sirius threw an arm around the werewolf’s shoulders, “You wouldn’t hex your boyfriend, would you Moony?”

Remus growled and walked towards the bathroom wordlessly, picking up his pyjamas on the way. His thoughts were difficult to process as he brushed his teeth, but he knew one thing- he wished he hadn’t opened his big mouth. He could have chosen _anyone_ , and he’d chosen Sirius Black. Sirius Black, the biggest drama queen he knew, who would not let this drop for months.

Then again, Remus considered, it was only a fake relationship. He would only have to keep up pretences when they were with other people. Otherwise, when it was just the four of them, he was free. In a few weeks time, he could stage a break-up. It would all be over, and he could forget about it at last.

It suddenly dawned on him that he couldn’t keep avoiding Sirius every evening like he had been for the past fortnight. He was also going to have to forget the incident that had taken place two weeks before- although he doubted the ease of that task, considering that it had been ingrained on his brain.

Remus shook his thoughts away and turned the tap off, deciding it would be best not to dwell on his mistakes. He walked back into the dormitory, where the other boys were slumped on their beds.

Remus climbed into bed and placed his wand on the bedside table, pausing only when Sirius called out, “Should I join you tonight, love?”

“Piss off.”

James howled with laughter as Sirius feigned a hurt expression. Remus rolled his eyes, “Sorry, Padfoot, I’m still aching from last night’s lovemaking. Perhaps tomorrow night?”

Sirius’ dark eyes twinkled, “Sounds like a deal, Moony.”

With a satisfied nod, Remus curled up under the covers and closed his eyes. He was exhausted, and knew that he would drift off to sleep any moment-

“Sleep tight, darling,” Sirius sang from his bed, “I’m sure your dreams will be filled with me in all my naked glory.”

Remus groaned and buried his head under the pillow, deciding that perhaps he wouldn’t sleep so well after all. At this rate, he didn’t know if he’d ever have a peaceful moment again.


	2. Chapter 2

The light streaming in through the window shone directly onto Sirius’ bed, waking him up earlier than he wanted. He considered closing the curtains around the four-poster bed and attempting to get another half hour of sleep, but decided against it. His thoughts were already flicking to last night’s events, and his brain was now too active to go back to sleep again.

He sat up and looked over at Remus, who was curled up tightly under the covers. Sirius was struck by how peaceful his friend looked, and he found himself smiling. An idea struck him, and before he could dismiss it he was climbing out of his bed and walking towards Remus’ bed on tip toes. Sirius gingerly lifted up the edge of the duvet and climbed in beside the werewolf as quietly as he could. He froze as Remus shifted slightly, but exhaled in relief when he realised his friend was still asleep.

From where he was laying in the bed beside Remus, Sirius could study his friend’s face quite closely. He squinted slightly as he realised that Remus had a light smattering of very pale freckles across his nose- a feature that he had never noticed so far in their six years of friendship. In the dim light from the window, the werewolf’s eyelashes appeared to be golden, and were longer than Sirius had ever observed before.

Remus suddenly inhaled deeply and began to stretch out like a cat after a long afternoon nap. After a moment, his eyes fluttered open and he gazed sleepily at Sirius’ grinning face.

“Good morning, darling.” Sirius smirked.

Remus screamed, and a moment later had toppled backwards off of the bed. Sirius leant over and caught sight of his friend’s terrified expression, causing him to roar with laughter.

“What. The. Fuck.” Remus demanded, his cheeks reddening in anger.

James and Peter, who had awoken at the sound of the werewolf’s screams, had sat up and observed the situation before them. Within seconds they had put the pieces together and burst into fits of laughter.

“Why are you so startled to see your lover’s face in the morning, Moony?” Sirius asked with a grin, “Was my dazzling beauty just too much for you at this time?”

Remus scowled as he pulled himself up off of the floor, “True beauty cannot be viewed at such an early time. I believe I was almost blinded.”

Sirius flopped back onto the bed, attempting to ignore how pleasant Remus’ natural scent on the sheets was as he turned to look at the others, “We need that kind of alarm every morning. Moony, how would you feel about me getting into your bed every day?”

Remus moodily walked towards the bathroom, “I’d say my reaction speaks volumes, Padfoot.”

Just before the door closed between them, Sirius winked at Remus, causing the light-haired boy’s cheeks to flush a glorious red. The sight of such a reaction caused Sirius to feel an odd sense of satisfaction, and he was smiling for the whole time it took him to get dressed.

Once they were ready, the four boys made their way towards the common room, but Sirius suddenly turned to Remus and slunk his arm around the boy’s waist.

“What are you doing?” Remus asked, appearing rather flustered.

“Come on, Moony,” Sirius murmured in his ear, “The whole of Gryffindor thinks we’re dating. We can’t let them down now.”

There was a moment of silence as Remus opened his mouth as if to protest before closing it a second later. He nodded defiantly, “Alright then. Come on, _gorgeous_. We don’t want to keep the others waiting.”

Sirius beamed, suddenly feeling rather warm, “No we don’t, darling. Not at all.”

 

* * *

 

Sirius observed as they trailed into the potions classroom that Remus had relaxed considerably. During breakfast, the other Gryffindor students had been surprisingly discreet about the arrival of the latest ‘it-couple’ (as James had decided to call them). While several of the students had been talking quietly in excited whispers and casting glances over at Sirius and Remus, it was clear that they’d decided to give the couple some space.

Sirius was slightly disappointed- he had been looking forward to playing up to the role of _Remus Lupin’s boyfriend_ , but he supposed perhaps it was better not to be so obvious about it. Remus, on the other hand, appeared to be incredibly pleased at the lack of attention they’d received.

“Everybody at the front!” Professor Slughorn called out as he walked in from the potions cupboard, “I’m mixing up the pairs today!”

James and Sirius both groaned, devastated at being separated. Sirius did wonder if it was their fault that everyone was being divided, as they had a habit of deliberately messing up their potion each week just to irritate Slughorn.

The Professor grabbed onto a list from his desk and adjusted his glasses so that he could read it.

“Snape, Pettigrew.”

Peter swore loudly and immediately regretted it as Slughorn deducted ten points from Gryffindor. He grumbled all the way to the back of the classroom where Snape was already standing with a sour expression.

“Evans, Potter.”

Beside Sirius, James seemed to choke. He cleared his throat quickly and pulled his hand through his hair with a nervous smile at Lily Evans. His face had grown rather red, and Lily observed it with a smirk.

“Are you breathing alright, Potter?”

James nodded and took a deep breath as if to prove that his respiration was, in fact, fine, “Perfect, Evans!”

A quiet laugh escaped her lips, but she tried to conceal it with a cough as she turned around and walked towards an empty desk. James followed her slowly, turning to slyly give Sirius a thumbs up that she couldn’t see.

While this exchange had been taking place, Slughorn had already called out multiple other pairs. Most of the desks were filled with pairs now, and a buzz of conversation had filled the classroom.

“Lupin, Black.”

The hum of chatter died for a second, and then the Gryffindors began to wolf whistle loudly. Sirius glanced sideways at Remus, who had gone a similar shade to James. Sirius threw an arm around his shoulders and guided him to a free desk while Slughorn called for everyone to settle down.

“Today you’ll be making a Draught of Living Death. Instructions are on page seven of your textbook. Ingredients are at the back.”

Beside Sirius, Remus flipped open the textbook and began to pore over the page. Sirius didn’t make a move to do the same, as he suddenly had the urge to watch his friend as he read it. He thought idly that he would be willing to watch ‘A Day in the Life of Remus Lupin’, even if it was twenty four solid hours of him reading a book.

He suddenly realised that he was staring and pulled his gaze away hurriedly, his cheeks flushing red.

Remus looked up, oblivious to Sirius’ embarrassment, “Do you want to get the ingredients and I’ll set up the equipment?”

Sirius nodded quickly and darted to the back of the classroom, hoping that his cheeks had died back down to a lighter shade. James was standing by the cupboard, studying the list of ingredients and trying his best to find the correct ones.

“Having trouble?” Sirius asked slyly as he reached for a jar of valerian roots.

James glanced up, having only just noticed his friend, and tried to appear casual as he muttered, “I really don’t want to mess this one up. For Lily.”

“Merlin’s beard,” Sirius read the labels on the jars as he spoke, “Evans has changed you, Prongs. I thought you _enjoyed_ deliberately blowing up potions every week.”

“Not today,” James bit his lip thoughtfully, “Maybe if we work well together, she’ll realise that we could be a bit of a power couple… you know?”

Sirius scoffed, “A power couple? Nah, that’s me and Moony.”

James suppressed a grin as he picked up a jar of some suspicious-smelling beans, “Whichever pair finishes the potion first and gets it perfect is the power couple. And it’s going to be me and Lily. She’s great at Potions.”

Sirius felt a flare of protectiveness for Remus, and he straightened up, “Game on, Potter. Try not to blow your cauldron up.”

With that, he left the back of the room and made his way back over to the desk with Remus. He placed the ingredients on the empty corner that Remus had cleared and turned to him with a determined expression, “Let’s do this.”

The werewolf glanced up at him warily, “No throwing wrong ingredients in behind my back?”

Sirius clutched his chest, “You wound me, Moony. I would only ever do that to Prongs. Never to you, my love. We have a potion to make, and it’s going to be perfect.”

Remus’ cheeks turned pink at the top, but he turned to the open potion book with a small smile on his lips.

Half an hour later, the two boys were leaning over the cauldron with expressions of pure concentration on their faces.

“Okay,” Sirius read the next line of instructions, “Add the cloves now.”

Remus dropped them in quickly and awaited the next instruction. Sirius, however, was distracted by how Remus had pushed his fringe away from his forehead, leaving his hair sticking up in an incredibly adorable fashion.

“Sirius?” Remus glanced up, “What’s next?”

“Oh!” Sirius jumped slightly and ran his hand through his own hair distractedly, “Right. Sorry. Seven anti-clockwise stirs followed by a clockwise stir. You got that?”

With a quizzical look at Sirius, Remus began to stir the potion. A blue steam started to rise from it, and Sirius punched the air.

“Yes! This is how it’s supposed to look!”

From the other side of the room, James glanced over at Sirius with a sour expression.

“How’s it going, James?” Sirius asked sweetly, and the other boy shook his head sternly. Behind him, Lily was stirring the potion with a frown.

“James, did you pick up the right beans? I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be this colour…”

James appeared rather startled at having been referred to by his first name, and he pushed his glasses up his nose as he turned to look at her, “Quite sure! Sopophorous beans _are_ the black ones, right?”

Sirius turned back to face Remus, who was studying the potion intently.

“You alright there, Moony?”

Remus’ gaze didn’t break away from the potion, “It should be turning from a lilac colour to clear…”

“All in due time,” Sirius beamed, “We’re good at this.”

There was a pause, and then Remus finally looked up at his friend with a small smile, “Yeah. We are.”

Those three words caused Sirius’ heart to soar, but he concealed it well as he picked up the textbook to read the last few lines again. Suddenly, Remus cheered loudly.

“We did it! It’s gone clear!”

Both boys hooted and high-fived each other. James swore on the other side of the room, although this time Slughorn didn’t deduct any house points for language. He instead approached Sirius and Remus with a green leaf and dropped it on the surface of the potion. For a moment nothing happened, and then the leaf began to darken and curl up as it died.

“Well done, boys,” Slughorn appeared to be very surprised at their success, “You’re clearly a wonderful pair.”

“That we are,” Sirius winked at Remus and threw an arm over his shoulders, “It’s what everyone says.”

 

* * *

 

 

Sirius found it very hard to hide his glee when Remus decided not to go to the library that evening and instead join them in the common room. It was the first time that he hadn’t gone since the incident two weeks before, and the gesture made Sirius feel hopeful.

The four boys grabbed their usual space by the fire and threw themselves down on the two sofas. Remus was sitting several inches away from Sirius, and suddenly appeared as though he were more conscious of the way that he was sitting. Sirius reached out and tapped on his friend’s arm, “We hardly look like we’re dating, do we?”

Remus laughed, relaxing slightly, “Should we just have sex on the sofa? Surely that will make it more realistic.”

“I like your thinking,” Sirius smirked, “But perhaps that might scar everyone else in the room.”

“Fine,” Remus shifted his weight so that he was facing Sirius with their legs lying side by side, “Will this do?”

Sirius rested his head on the armrest, “For now, my love.”

Peter pretended to gag, and a pillow suddenly flew in his direction accompanied by Sirius’ shouts of, “Oi! Don’t disrespect our love!”

Marlene leant over the back of the sofa that James and Peter were sitting on with a smirk, “Yeah, Peter, I wouldn’t disrespect those two. They’re a pretty powerful couple, it seems.”

Dorcas appeared beside her friend, “Powerful indeed. Remus, tell us, how did you manage to get Sirius Black, notorious for blowing up his cauldron at least once a week, to successfully brew a Draught of Living Death?”

Remus shrugged casually, “He clearly wants to impress me, being my boyfriend and all. If he ruined my Potions grade, I doubt we’d be boyfriends for much longer.”

“Is that a threat?” Sirius asked with wide eyes, and everyone began to laugh. He winked at Remus, “You wouldn’t break up with me just because of a bad Potions grade, Moony. We’re an unstoppable force.”

Remus blushed and glanced at the floor, clearly unable to form a sentence. No one else had noticed his bashfulness as Dorcas asked, “So, how did it happen? You two getting together?”

Sirius felt Remus tense beside him, but the werewolf didn’t hesitate as he cleared his throat, “It’s nothing like a romance novel. We just… realised how we felt.”

Both girls slumped with disappointment, having clearly wanted something juicier. Sirius sighed dramatically, “Moony! Don’t lie to them! We’d actually been stargazing by the lake. Under the stars, Remus John Lupin finally admitted his true feelings for me. It was _incredibly_ romantic. Remus is just embarrassed because of how sappy it was, aren’t you?”

In response, Remus scowled at him.

Meanwhile, Dorcas squealed, “That’s so sweet and romantic! Remus, why can’t you be _my_ boyfriend?”

Sirius felt a flare of possessiveness as he reached forwards and grabbed onto Remus’ hand, “Sorry, ladies, but he’s taken! He’s only allowed to do the romantic thing with me.”

His tone had betrayed his feelings more than he’d wanted it to, and Remus’ eyes twinkled for a brief second before he blinked and glanced away again. Marlene and Dorcas hadn’t noticed anything, and left the four boys by the fire.

“Merlin's beard,” James spluttered, “I was trying so hard to say nothing just because I didn’t want them to report anything bad back to Lily. It was so hard when there was so much potential for me to take the piss out of you two.”

With a shake of his head, Peter chuckled, “Oh no, if you want an opportunity to have a good old laugh at Moony, just lay in his bed in the morning for when he wakes up.”

James and Peter both roared with laughter, but Sirius was surprised when Remus simply smiled and shook his head, “Didn’t you hear Padfoot? I’m all his.”

Sirius felt a swell of pleasure in his chest but tried to conceal it as he glanced up at his friend. It was only then that he noticed that the two of them were still holding hands. Remus seemed to notice at the same time as him, and after a moment’s hesitation gently pulled his hand away to scratch his head.

Sirius’ hand, which had felt comfortably warm for the past few minutes, now felt oddly empty.

Along with that emptiness, he felt the oddest sensation of disappointment.


	3. Chapter 3

“Moony.”

Remus didn’t hear his name being called the first time, as he was too enthralled by Act Five of _King Lear_. He leant his face closer to the page, his mouth dropping open slightly as he read the next few lines.

“ _Moony_.”

He glanced up blearily at Sirius, who was sitting on his bed with a discarded Transfiguration essay on his pillow.

“Mm?” Remus responded at last, frowning in confusion. Sirius smirked, as if he were sharing a private joke with himself, “Looks like old Shakespeare has taken your heart. Is this the end of us, Remus? You spend more time reading that play than you speak to me.”

Remus couldn’t help but laugh, “Yes, Padfoot. I’m afraid your duties as fake boyfriend are over. Shakespeare will take over now.”

Before Remus realised what was going on, Sirius had got up from his own bed and was crawling onto the other end of Remus’.

“Read to me, Moony.” He murmured, in an oddly seductive voice that caused a blush to travel up Remus’ neck. He cleared his throat quickly, avoiding his friend’s mischievous grin.

“Well… Are you sure? You might not find it very interesting...” He managed weakly.

Sirius beamed, “Remus. You could read the whole History of Magic textbook to me and I would be hanging onto your every word.”

A warm feeling spread through Remus’ chest, and he opened his mouth to say something just as the door to the dormitory flew open and a very pale James Potter stumbled in.

He slammed the door shut behind him and looked at Remus and Sirius in horror, as if he had just witnessed something terrible.

“Prongs?” Sirius asked with a frown, “You look like you’ve seen a dementor. Are you alright?”

James’ face was ashen as he slowly approached his bed and sat down on the edge of it. After a moment’s silence, he began to speak.

“Fuck. Shit. I… Fuck.”

Remus flipped the book on his lap shut and leant forwards, “What’s wrong?”

James began to shake his head quickly, “No… Nothing’s wrong. In fact, everything’s fine. I… Lily just agreed to go with me to Hogsmeade tomorrow.”

For a second, no one spoke, and then Sirius began to laugh, “Blimey, Prongs. You’re her Potions partner for a week and she finally says yes? You should have asked Slughorn to put you together years ago.”

James nodded slowly, the colour starting to return to his face, “I know. She was… talking to me in the common room. Normally. Like a friend. And we were talking for about ten minutes before I just suddenly asked her. And she… for a second she looked like she was going to say no. I know exactly the face she pulls before she says no- she’s said it enough times. But then… she just suddenly said yes.” He paused, “Shit. I’m going on a date with Lily Evans. What am I going to wear?”

Remus and Sirius both burst into fits of laughter, and James glared at the two of them before leaning down to look at his trunk and work out his outfit options.

“Come to think of it,” Sirius suddenly stopped laughing and straightened up, “Remus, shouldn’t we go on a date?”

The laughter in Remus’ throat died as he looked up sharply at his friend, “What? Why?”

“Everyone thinks we’re dating. It makes sense. We all go to Hogsmeade all the time, it will hardly be any different.” Sirius’ voice was gentle, and Remus suddenly wondered if it wouldn’t be such a bad idea. He dismissed the thought quickly and stood up to put  _King Lear_  back in his trunk. He dropped the book on top of an unfolded pair of socks, and when he turned around he almost jumped out of his skin.

Sirius was one knee on the ground in front of him with a mischievous glint in his grey eyes. He cleared his throat, “Remus John Lupin. Would you make me the happiest man alive-”

“Oh God-”

“And accompany me on a fake-date to Hogsmeade?” Sirius finished with a grin. Remus studied his face for a second and observed how much like a dog his friend could be, even when he wasn’t in his Animagus form. If there was one thing Remus couldn’t say no to, it was Sirius’ puppy-dog face. He groaned.

“ _Fine_.”

Sirius cheered and stood up, positively beaming. Remus couldn’t help but feel genuinely happy at the sight of his friend so overjoyed by the idea of a fake Hogsmeade date.

“We ought to tell Pete,” Sirius muttered, “We can’t have him tagging along on our respective dates.”

From where he was sitting with his head inside his trunk, James laughed, “No need to worry, Padfoot. He’s currently in the process of chatting up Mary Macdonald again. He seems to have a bit of a charm with her.”

Remus stopped listening as he watched the back of Sirius’ head, suddenly feeling oddly excited for their fake date. As if sensing the werewolf’s gaze, Sirius turned around and winked at Remus, causing his stomach to plummet.

On second thoughts, he decided, if Sirius kept on doing things like that, he didn’t know if he’d last the day.

 

* * *

 

 

“You ready, Moony?”

Remus’ head was buried deep inside his trunk as he searched for his hat. Overnight a thin layer of snow had appeared, and Remus had decided that it would be the perfect opportunity to bring out his favourite woolly hat.

“Almost!” He responded. A second later, his hand brushed against the soft material of the hat, and he seized it, “Coming!”

He pulled the hat down over his hair and rushed out into the hallway where Sirius was standing. When the dark-haired boy’s eyes fell onto Remus’ hat, he smiled.

“You look cute.”

Remus rolled his eyes in an attempt to conceal his reddening cheeks. He knew that Sirius’ compliments and flirtatious behaviour was all part of the façade, but it still seemed to provoke _very real_ reactions for Remus.

“Shut up. Shall we go?”

Sirius pouted, “You could at least compliment _me_ , Moony. I made an effort for this date.”

Remus opened his mouth and closed it again as his eyes took Sirius in. He paused.

“You look effortlessly _dashing_ , Padfoot. As always.”

The last two words had slipped out without meaning to, and before Remus had time to blush, Sirius’ cheeks turned a rare shade of pink.

“Thanks, Remus. Now we can go.” He smirked, but his cheeks were still tinged with colour.

They moved through the common room where some students had decided to stay back to study and ducked through the portrait hole. Most of the Gryffindor students, however, were on their way to Hogsmeade. As they walked down the corridor, the two boys were surrounded by other groups of friends on their way out of the castle. Several students looked overjoyed at the sight of Remus and Sirius on their way to Hogsmeade together, and began to whisper to each other about how ‘cute’ the couple were. Remus cast a sideways glance at Sirius, and saw that his friend was smirking right back at him. With a low grumble, he shoved Sirius gently.

Once they were past Filch and out of the castle, the groups around them started to thin as people spread out to walk down the winding path to Hogsmeade.

“Moony,” Sirius murmured quietly, his breath warming Remus’ right cheek, “We should probably hold hands. We _are_ on a date.”

Remus ignored the glint in Sirius’ dark eyes and nodded, “Okay.”

Sirius seemed surprised at the lack of protest, but after a moments’ hesitation, Remus felt a warm hand take hold of his own. He was struck by how natural it felt, and for a second he didn’t know what to say. Sirius, however, seemed unfazed.

“You don’t know much about dates, do you?” He asked gently, and Remus shook his head shyly.

“I… I’ve never actually been on a date before.” He admitted quietly. Sirius gasped dramatically.

“Remus Lupin!” He shouted, “Are you telling me that none of the other students you’ve dated have ever asked you on a date? How dare they?”

Remus shrugged, “We were never really _dating_ properly. Just… messing around. You know.”

A small crease formed between Sirius’ eyebrows, “But even so, surely they would have asked you on one?”

There was a pause before Remus sighed in defeat, “Rich asked me on one when we were dating. But I couldn’t because it was the day after a full moon. I used the usual lie, you know… told him I was visiting a sick aunt. But he got the hump with me because he noticed that the rest of you guys hadn’t done to Hogsmeade together. You’d stayed with me in the Hospital Wing, but he assumed that the four of us were hanging out having a jolly.”

Sirius’ grip on Remus’ hand tightened considerably as he muttered, “You can always rely on _Dick_ Stubbins to get the wrong impression. He wasn’t intellectual enough for you, Moony.”

“The next time there was a Hogsmeade trip he just dragged me away from Zonko’s and snogged me in an alleyway.” Remus finished.

There was a moment of silence. “Well. That hardly constitutes as a date.” Sirius sniffed, “I’m taking you on your first date, Moony. And I’m privileged to be doing so.”

“Even if it’s fake?” Remus asked with a sly grin, but the look on Sirius’ face made his own smile slip away, “Thanks for asking me on my first date, Pads. I’m… glad it’s with you.”

The words were so very true that Remus felt oddly exposed, and he couldn’t meet his friend’s eyes. He instead looked the other way at the group of Ravenclaws walking along the path beside them.

The two boys walked along in silence for a while, but when Remus glanced sideways at Sirius he saw that he was smiling. A warm feeling spread through his chest, and he glanced away before Sirius could catch his eye.

When they arrived in Hogsmeade, the two boys paused and finally glanced up at each other.

“Where do you want to go?” Remus asked nervously, and Sirius shrugged his shoulders.

“What’s your ideal date?” The dark-haired boy asked with a sly smirk, causing Remus to blush.

“I don’t know yet. I’ve never been on one,” Remus avoided the question tactfully, “But how about I take you to _your_ favourite places? It’s what a good boyfriend does.”

Sirius positively beamed, “You’re the best boyfriend I’ve ever had, Moony. Now lead the way.” The two boys made their way through the snowy street to Zonko’s Joke Shop. The moment they were through the door, they felt a blast of heat that they were extremely grateful for. They had missed the most recent Hogsmeade trip due to another full moon, so there was a variety of new stock that they had never seen before. When Sirius’ eyes fell on some new products, he excitedly tugged on Remus’ hand and pulled him towards the back of the shop.

Remus knew that he was supposed to be observing the new products as Sirius pointed them all out to him, but he could barely keep his eyes off of his friend’s face as he picked up each item and studied it carefully. The twinkle in Sirius’ grey eyes and the way his bottom lip stuck out slightly as he read the back of the packaging made Remus’ stomach do a sudden, unexpected flip.

Sirius raised his head and met Remus’ gaze with a smile as he placed the product back on the shelf.

“Are you even listening to me, Moony?” He asked with a smirk.

Remus squeaked, “Yes! You said… that…”

“Mm hmm,” Sirius nodded, his lips twitching into a smile, “Too busy admiring my gorgeous looks, were we?”

With a shake of his head, Remus tried to think of something to say, “I… was… thinking about… how… how…”

Sirius burst out laughing, a glorious sound that made Remus’ heart stutter, “It’s alright, Moony. Come on, I need to buy some dungbombs and then we can go.”

Once they were out of the shop, Remus led the way to Honeydukes. The moment Sirius spotted the werewolf gazing forlornly at the Chocolate Frogs, he scooped up five of them and made his way towards the till wordlessly.

“Sirius!” Remus protested, “You don’t have to buy those for me!”

“Now, now,” Sirius murmured as he pulled some galleons out of his pocket, “I’m your boyfriend. I’m here to buy you your favourite things. And we all know for a _fact_ that you love chocolate.”

Behind where the two boys were standing, two fourth year Gryffindor girls had heard their conversation and began to whisper to each other about how adorable they were. Remus blushed as Sirius thrust the bag of Chocolate Frogs into his free hand and led him out of the shop.

“Look how much we’re pleasing our fans,” Sirius murmured, “This fake date was a _great_ idea of mine.”

“You’re always full of great ideas, Padfoot,” Remus replied sincerely, causing Sirius to puff his chest out proudly. The werewolf spluttered with laughter, and Sirius turned on him with an affronted expression.

“What? Why are you laughing?”

Remus caught his breath and glanced up at his friend with a smirk. He suddenly had the urge to go on his tip-toes and kiss Sirius on the cheek, but he dismissed the idea very quickly. Instead of responding, he simply pulled on Sirius’ hand to lead him towards The Three Broomsticks.

“You’re a mystery to me, Remus Lupin,” Sirius whispered in his ear as they entered the crowded pub. In response, Remus turned to Sirius and very uncharacteristically winked.

Sirius stopped walking, his mouth dropping open, “Oh… Oh my god.”

Then, to Remus’ genuine surprise, Sirius’ face darkened to a deep shade of red. He opened his mouth and closed it again, distantly reminding Remus of a fish.

“This must be a first,” Remus smirked, “I have never before rendered you speechless. We must have swapped roles.”

“I…” Sirius shook his head, “ _I_ do the winking, Moony! And _you_ do the blushing!”

“I like to keep you on your toes. And now, seeing as I’ve assumed your role in this relationship, I’m going to buy the butterbeers. You find a table.” Remus finally pulled his hand free from Sirius’ grip and turned to the bar.

As he waited to be served, the werewolf thought to himself how oddly satisfying it had been to make Sirius Black _blush_. The oddest part was that he wanted to do it again.

His thoughts suddenly flickered to the incident three weeks before that he tried not to think about, and his brain started to whir. He was having trouble putting all these feelings together and understanding them. Something about the whole situation terrified him, and as his hands closed around the cold butterbeer glasses he decided perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to try and make Sirius blush again.

He found Sirius sitting somewhere near the back, seemingly recovered from his flustered reaction as he was lazily draped over the cushioned chair. Remus placed the drinks down on the table and glanced around, his eyes resting on James and Lily.

“Should we go and say hi?” He asked hesitantly as he sat down, but Sirius shook his head gravely.

“Prongs made me swear an oath that I wouldn’t interfere with the date,” He smirked, “For some reason, he thinks I would ruin it.” Remus gasped mockingly, “Why on earth would he think that?”

He felt a foot kick his leg under the table as Sirius murmured, “Shut up. It’s mainly because I think Evans still hates me and my presence might remind her of why she used to hate Prongs.”

Slyly, Remus turned his head around and watched James and Lily as they chatted. Lily suddenly threw her head back with a laugh, and James’ eyes twinkled as he watched her with a grin on his face.

“Well,” Remus turned back to face Sirius, “I don’t think she’ll go back to hating him again anytime soon.”

He glanced down as the dark-haired boy reached his hand across the table and covered his own. He half expected Sirius to make a joke about pleasing the fans, but he didn’t. Instead, he simply smiled at Remus as he took a sip from his butterbeer.

His eyebrows suddenly knitted together as he leant forwards and frowned at someone sitting behind Remus.

“Looks like Dick Stubbins has moved on fairly quickly.” He muttered, and Remus craned his neck to see who Richard was sitting with. He recognised a Ravenclaw boy who was in sixth year sitting opposite Richard and talking animatedly. Richard appeared to be rather bored.

“Well,” Remus raised an eyebrow, “He’s moved on fast.”

Sirius’ eyes softened, “To be fair, Moony, he thinks you got with me about a week after you broke up with him. So he must think _you_ moved on fast.”

“He hardly cared about it very much,” Remus joked, “Seeing as he bet on us being together. I wonder if he was betting on it while I was still seeing him.”

“I’ve always said he was a dick,” Sirius shrugged his shoulders, and Remus couldn’t help but laugh.

“Hey.”

Sirius and Remus both glanced up at James and Lily, who were standing next to their table with smiles on their faces.

“Lily and I were going to walk back to the castle,” James muttered nervously, “Do you want to join us?”

“You sure?” Sirius asked tentatively, his gaze shifting to Lily. She beamed, “We wouldn’t have asked otherwise, Sirius. I was really asking because I’ve been with James for a few hours now and I _can’t stand_ having to talk to him alone for much longer.”

James’ head snapped up, “What?”

Lily burst out laughing and patted him on the back gently, “Just kidding, Potter. Ever heard of a joke before?”

After a pause, James began to laugh nervously. He turned to the other two and made a gesture to invite them as they began to walk. Remus and Sirius stood up, their hands naturally meeting as they walked behind James and Lily towards the exit. Once they were out in the cold again, Remus moved his body slightly closer to Sirius’ to absorb his warmth. Beside them, Lily and James’ fingers were brushing as they walked side by side.

“So,” Remus asked, “Have you two had a nice day?”

It was Lily who answered with a beam, “I think we have. We spent the whole time in The Three Broomsticks but… it was nice.”

James puffed his chest out proudly and turned to the two boys, “What about you guys? Nice date?”

Remus glanced at Sirius, their eyes meeting for a split second as they each considered what to say. Remus could honestly say that it was the best date he’d ever been on, even if was also the first date. Even though it had been a setup- a fake date to fool everyone else- something about the whole day had felt very incredibly real. But Remus didn’t want to say any of that out loud. Those were his private thoughts to dwell on.

In response to James’ question, both boys nodded with a casual shrug and murmured, “Very nice.”

Silently, Remus hoped that they would keep this fake relationship up for longer just so they could go on another Hogsmeade date.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay - I've been drowning in school work and only just managed to get time to finish this chapter off!

“I feel sick.”

Sirius, who had been tapping his fingers absentmindedly on the table, turned to James with a frown, “When have you, James Potter, ever felt sick before a Quidditch game? You’re James Potter the Fearless. James Potter the Invincible.” His friend only shook his head in response and lowered his voice, “James Potter the Fearless is missing in action because he’s going to have Lily Evans the Beautiful watching him play. And he doesn’t want to mess up.”

From beside Sirius, Remus shrugged his shoulders and glanced up from his bacon, “Lily has been watching you play Quidditch for _years_ , Prongs. I doubt that this is any different.”

“Yeah but… she’s probably never watched _me_ personally.” James murmured as he spun his fork around in his hand.

Sirius smirked, “You never know, Prongs. Her eyes could be on _me_ the whole time. You know how gorgeous I am.”

Remus nudged his leg against Sirius’ and murmured slyly, “She won’t be alone in that, Padfoot.”

Sirius felt his mouth drop open before he began to laugh. He seized hold of Remus’ hand, “Oh, Moony. You old flirt.”

Remus began to say something, but was interrupted as a very ruffled-looking Peter sat down beside James. He had a lazy grin on his face, and his cheeks were tinged pink.

“And _where_ have you been that’s got you so love struck, Wormtail?” James asked, but there was no need for Peter to answer. Ten seconds later, Sirius’ eyes fell on Mary MacDonald walking into the Great Hall with a suspicious look about her.

“Did you just shag Mary MacDonald before breakfast?” Sirius asked. He could feel Remus vibrating with laughter beside him, and the closeness of his friend made him want to beam until his cheeks hurt.

Peter shook his head, aghast, “I didn’t have _sex_ with her, Sirius! I’d have to have a good breakfast for that.”

“Peter,” Remus had stopped laughing and leant forwards, “If you’re just going to get off with Mary while we’re watching the Quidditch match, I’m not sitting next to you.”

There was a moment of silence, and then Remus turned to face Sirius, “Looks like I’ll be sitting on my own.”

“You used to sit with Stubbins, didn’t you?” Peter asked tactlessly.

“Well,” The werewolf shrugged his shoulders, and Sirius was sure that he felt Remus’ grip on his hand tighten ever so slightly, “I’m unlikely to sit with him now, aren’t I?”

In response, Peter mumbled something indiscernible through a mouthful of toast.

James glanced down at his watch, “Right, Pads, we should probably get going if we want to warm up before the game starts. See you two later.”

Sirius nodded in agreement and started to stand up, waving a silent goodbye to Peter as he did so.

“Good luck, Padfoot,” Remus smiled, his green eyes twinkling, “Go get ‘em.”

Without thinking what he was doing, Sirius leant forwards and kissed Remus’ cheek gently. His lips were only in contact with the werewolf’s skin for a second, but when he pulled back he could already feel his cheeks flushing. Remus gulped, opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it again. Sirius tried to think of a logical reason for why he had just kissed Remus Lupin on the cheek, but his thoughts were a blur. He blurted the only thing he could think of to say.

“Just in case any of our fans were watching.” He plastered a grin across his face, “Sorry if I startled you, Moony.”

Remus began to shake his head, but he didn’t look unhappy or annoyed. He just looked bewildered. Eventually, he cleared his throat, “Yeah. That was… cool. I mean… I mean that it’s cool with me. That you did that.”

“Oi!” James shouted across the Great Hall, “Stop flirting with your boyfriend! We’ve got a game to play!” Sirius squeezed Remus’ hand, “Duty calls. See you later, Moony.”

He started to walk away, but when he reached the door he couldn’t help but turn his head to look at Remus again. The light-haired boy was looking down at his breakfast plate with a smile on his face.

Sirius’ heart swelled, and he made his way to the Quidditch pitch with a newly-discovered determination.

 

* * *

 

 

As Remus trailed into the Quidditch stands, his mind was entirely somewhere else. He could hardly think straight, and he didn’t hear his name being called until the sixth time.

“Remus!” Lily Evans waved from where she was sitting with Dorcas and Marlene, “Have you gone deaf? Come and sit with us!”

He blinked at her a couple of times before he registered what she had said and walked over to the empty seat beside her. She had a smirk on her face, “You looked like you were in another world, Remus. Someone on your mind?”

Marlene leant forwards, her dark hair swinging over her shoulders, “You know, Remus, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Sirius Black quite so infatuated with someone as he is with you. He looks at you like you’re the only light in his world. He certainly never looked at _me_ like that.”

From beside her, Dorcas rolled her eyes, “You dated him in third year, and it was hardly _dating_. You held hands under the table in Transfiguration. And he took you to Madam Puddifoot’s and you both _hated_ it. You broke up after a week.”

Remus was still processing Marlene’s comment- did Sirius really look at him like that? He’d hardly noticed.

“Anyway,” Marlene smirked at Lily, “Potter looks at you exactly the same way.”

Lily’s cheeks burned almost as red as her hair, “Well… I… I…He…”

Remus saved her, “Just like how Peter looks at Mary, then.”

Forgetting Lily’s blushing cheeks, Dorcas groaned, “Don’t get me started on those two! I walked into the potions cupboard the other day to get some ingredients and they were getting off against the shelves! Can you imagine old Slughorn's face if he had caught them in the act?”

Lily paused- Remus was pleased to see her face had returned to a normal colour- before she frowned, “Wait… In the middle of a lesson?”

Solemnly, Dorcas nodded her head. Remus burst out laughing.

“So Pete just ditched Snape and decided to get off with Mary instead of helping with the potion?” He shook his head, “He’s such an idiot.”

Marlene shrugged her shoulders, “I imagine Snape encouraged it. He prefers working alone, doesn’t he?” Lily opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off as the crowds around them began to roar. The Gryffindor team had marched out of the changing rooms. Remus sat up in his seat slightly to try and spot Sirius, just as Lily did the same for James.

He spotted Sirius’ lean figure, his long hair tied up in a bun to stop it from getting in his face, and his cheeks warmed. He couldn’t help but think of the dark-haired boy kissing his cheek earlier that morning, and the odd sense of joy that he had experienced following it. The joy was mingled with fear as well- fear of what his relationship with Sirius was becoming.

On the other side of the pitch was the Slytherin team. They were already throwing insults at the Gryffindor team, who were trying their hardest not to retaliate. There had been so many issues between Slytherin and Gryffindor in Quidditch last year that McGonagall had almost suspended some players from the team. Remus knew that none of the Gryffindor players wanted to be kicked off the team. It was humiliating for that to happen, and the other team members were likely to be fuming if anyone was kicked off.

Remus could see that both Sirius and James had their fists clenched down by their sides and were attempting not to rise to the Slytherin team’s bait. Luckily, everyone had begun to mount their brooms, and the heckling had stopped.

A moment later, the whistle blew and the game began.

“And they’re off!” Michael Elphick, the Quidditch commentator shouted, “That’s Potter with the Quaffle! But it looks like he could lose it…”

Remus stopped listening, instead seeking out Sirius who was whizzing around the pitch with his bat in his hand, swinging it to knock a Bludger away from another team mate. The werewolf felt oddly sick as he watched the game unfold- he’d always felt that Sirius had the most dangerous job on the team, but he’d never watched the dark-haired boy so intently during a game before. He’d never felt quite so worried every time a Bludger had swerved towards Sirius, but now he was grinding his teeth from the stress.

As if sensing Remus’ constant eyes on him, as Sirius flew past the Gryffindor stands he turned to the werewolf and blew him a dramatic kiss. Remus knew it was to ‘please the fans’, but it still sent his stomach plummeting. Everyone around him cheered loudly, and he felt several slaps on the back from people in the row behind him.

Lily, Dorcas and Marlene all took one look at Remus’ crimson face and laughed enthusiastically. Remus scowled at Lily, “Maybe James will do the same for you.”

“I’m nowhere _near_ as easily embarrassed as you are, Remus,” Lily murmured, throwing her red hair over her shoulder. He still noticed the way the tops of her cheeks were tinged pink.

As they turned back to the game, James scored a goal, causing the whole of Gryffindor house to scream with joy. As everyone quietened down, Remus’ gaze fell on Sirius once again, who was flying towards the centre of the pitch to knock a Bludger away from the team Seeker. What Sirius had not noticed, however, was the other Bludger that was speeding towards him. The Gryffindors began to shout to catch his attention, and Sirius glanced up just as the ball swerved towards him.

He ducked and lost his balance, unable to grip onto the broom with two hands as he whacked the Bludger away. A moment later, he toppled to one side and slid off of the broom.

Remus stood up sharply, his heart thudding in his chest. Sirius’ left hand had managed to grab onto the handle just in time, and he was hanging from the broom in the middle of the pitch with his bat in his right hand. As usual, he didn’t look afraid- just slightly amused by the situation. His gaze met Remus’, and then everything seemed to slow down. The noise of the roaring crowd faded away, and for a moment Sirius and Remus were the only two people on the pitch. Sirius beamed at Remus, and any worry that the werewolf had been feeling dissolved. He found himself smiling back, and when he blinked the sounds of the crowd returned. A moment later, Sirius swung himself back up onto the broom and flew towards the goals. The Gryffindors cheered, but beside Remus, Lily was watching the werewolf with an amused expression.

“What?” He asked, but she shook her head with a sly smirk.

“And… what’s that?” Elphick’s voice was loud over the speakers, “Jordan’s got the Snitch! Gryffindor have won!”

The roar of the Gryffindors was deafening, and Remus found himself cheering right along with them. People began to chant Jordan’s name repetitively as the Seeker flew to the centre of the pitch with the Snitch raised above his head. The rest of the team were already flying back down towards the grass with grins on their faces.

“Come on,” Lily murmured in his ear, “Shall we go and get our boys?”

Remus nodded quickly, his heart oddly stuttering at the thought of Sirius as ‘his boy’. He shook the thought away and followed Lily away from the stands and down to the pitch where the team were standing. The Slytherins had skulked off, leaving the Gryffindors cheering and slapping Jordan on the back joyfully.

“Where’s James?” Lily asked, a crease forming between her eyebrows as she searched for him. Surprisingly, he was not standing with his team mates.

“Did I hear my name?” A voice sounded from above as James descended on his broom, “Care for a ride, Lily?”

Remus watched with amusement as Lily glanced up at James hesitantly, “I…”

James lowered his broom to the floor and scooted forwards, “Sit on the back. Don’t worry, I’ll go slowly. I promise.”

With a small smile, Lily threw her Gryffindor scarf over her shoulder and lifted a leg over the broom. She wrapped her arms around James’ waist, and he kicked off into the air. Lily’s screams could be heard from the ground as they hurtled towards the sky.

Remus turned around to glance at the Gryffindor team, and after a moment he spotted Sirius standing there with his hands in his pockets. Before the werewolf could say anything, Sirius closed the gap between them and hugged Remus to him tightly.

“Oh,” Remus murmured into Sirius’ shoulder, “Hi.”

He’d hugged Sirius a few times over the course of their friendship- often at the end of term or when they were reunited after summer- but their hugs were never quite so… warm. When Remus inhaled, he caught Sirius’ sweet, smoky scent. It sent a thrill down his spine, and he couldn’t help closing his eyes as he leant into the hug.

He wasn’t sure how long they'd hugged for, but he only knew that when Sirius hesitantly pulled away, it hadn’t been long enough. The dark-haired boy appeared to be uncharacteristically bashful as he nervously ran a hand through his long hair. Remus smirked at him, “Well done for not dying.”

“Well,” Sirius winked, “You were distracting me, Moony. Watching me throughout the whole game. Generally, people watch the whole team.”

It was Remus’ turn to become embarrassed, and he cleared his throat nervously, “You’re… a very good Beater. It was interesting to watch you play.”

Sirius’ grey eyes twinkled mischievously, “Whatever you say, Moony. Shall we go back to the castle?”

“Sounds like a fine idea to me, Padfoot.”

The two boys began to walk across the pitch, and as they did so, their hands intertwined. Neither of them said a thing.

 

* * *

 

 

The Gryffindor Tower was alive with music. Students were scattered all over the Common Room, cheering and drinking alcohol as they celebrated their first win of the year.

Lily was laying across the sofa, gazing up at James fondly from where her head was rested in his lap. He was idly playing with her hair as he was chatting to Sirius about the game. James was slurring his words slightly, while Sirius still seemed to be completely sober. Remus wondered as he glanced at the half-empty bottle of Firewhisky in Sirius’ hand if he was _really_ drinking from it, or simply pretending to.

“Do you want something to drink, Remus?” Lily asked, “You haven’t had anything all night-”

Remus’ smile was strained, “I’m fine, Lily. Thanks anyway.”

The werewolf didn’t often decline the offer of a drink, but since the incident a month before, he wasn’t sure if he ever wanted to drink again.

Peter and Mary threw themselves down onto the sofa beside Remus, both slightly breathless. James looked at them quizzically, and Peter flushed bright pink before clearing his throat, “Padfoot! I heard all about that fall you had from the broom! Well done on saving yourself from that one!”

Sirius mock gasped, “Wormy, you mean you only _heard_ about my majestic fall? You didn’t even witness it?”

Mary cleared her throat hurriedly, “We were chatting. About something. And then everyone screamed and we were… both too short to see it.”

James vibrated with laughter, and Lily slapped his arm lightly, although she was smirking as well. Remus decided to save Peter and Mary from any further humiliation and nodded enthusiastically, “Sirius recovered really well from the fall. It was impressive.”

Sirius glanced over at Remus, and their eyes met briefly before the dark-haired boy beamed, “I caught your eye across the pitch, Moony, and you simply inspired me to go on.”

Remus found himself laughing, and he reached out and whacked Sirius around the head, “You’re such a flirt, Padfoot.”

“All part of my dazzling charm,” Sirius winked, “Isn’t that why you asked me to be your boyfriend?”

The werewolf shook his head with a smirk, “Something like that. But also because of the way you make me go weak at the knees when you smile at me.”

It had been said as a joke, but as the words emerged from Remus’ mouth he realised how incredibly true they were. His eyes widened and his cheeks burnt as he sought Sirius’ gaze. He didn’t know what he expected Sirius’ reaction to be. He hoped for a light joke- he hoped for the whole sentence to be completely forgotten as part of their fake flirting.

Except Sirius wasn’t saying anything. His grey eyes had fallen onto Remus’ green ones, and they were the warmest Remus had ever seen them. Everything about the expression that Sirius was wearing on his face illustrated how much he cared for the werewolf. It was not false- it was not part of the fake relationship. It was very, incredibly real. Remus didn’t think that Sirius had ever looked at him like that before.

His stomach twisted with fear.

He shook his head and stood up sharply, “I… I think I need some fresh air.”

“Moony?” Sirius asked in confusion, but Remus didn’t turn around. Instead, he pushed past the Gryffindor students towards the portrait hole and tried not to let the crushing fear of what he had just seen come down upon him. He just had to get away.

 

* * *

 

 

Sirius leapt up from his seat, trying to catch sight of Remus as he darted through the crowd.

“Moony!” He shouted, but the werewolf didn’t respond. With a sinking feeling in his chest, he began to move towards the portrait hole.

“Fuck!” James shouted, “Padfoot! You just spilt Firewhisky on me!”

Sirius didn’t say anything as he shoved past the other students. The portrait had already swung shut, and he had trouble finding a grip on the handle as he tried to wrench it open. He didn’t understand what was going on, but he knew that he had to get to Remus… he had to make sure that he was alright.

He finally pulled the portrait open and ducked through the hole, glancing down the dark corridor.

“Moony?” He murmured quietly, but there was no response. He began to walk a moment before he registered where his feet were taking him. If Remus wasn’t in the library, there was always one other place he would sneak into at night to get away from everyone else. And Sirius had a very strong feeling that he would find him there.

As he walked, he tried to comprehend what had happened… one minute he had been flirting with Remus and then suddenly the werewolf had said something that had made Sirius’ heart stutter in his chest. He had been so startled by the outburst of emotion that he had stared at the werewolf in wonder... And a moment later Remus had run off.

Sirius wondered what he had done wrong. Had he been supposed to respond? Because, in all honesty, Sirius wasn’t sure he would have been able to open his mouth to respond. In that brief moment, he had melted.

As he ascended the stairs, he wondered what he would say to Remus. The werewolf liked to be left alone when he was upset, but Sirius didn’t want to leave him alone. He wanted to be with him. It seemed so simple, yet it was incredibly complicated.

He pushed open the door to the Astronomy Tower, and his eyes fell on Remus, who was sitting on the floor with his knees pulled up underneath his chin. For a moment, Sirius hesitated. Perhaps it was better to leave him alone after all…

_No,_ a small voice in his head rang out. Sirius nodded to himself, inhaling deeply before tentatively approaching his friend. He didn’t say anything as he sat down on the floor beside him. Silence rang out between them.

“Moony?” Sirius asked, turning his head to glance at Remus’ shining eyes, “What’s the matter?”

For a second, it seemed as if Remus hadn’t heard him, and then he glanced up and the pain in his green eyes sent a stab of pain through Sirius’ chest.

“It’s just…” He started to say before groaning and running his hands through his light hair, “I… Ugh.”

Sirius decided not to say anything, and instead waited patiently for his friend to start speaking again. He wanted to make him feel at ease, and the best way to do that with Remus was to say nothing.

Silence stretched out for what felt like hours, and then Remus began to speak.

“When I was dating Richard… we were only messing about at first. You know… we were getting off in a broom cupboard or in some deserted classroom. It hardly had much real meaning at the start.” He paused, “I wish it had stayed like that. But it didn’t. Richard started to have actual feelings towards me and… well… I felt the same about him. It was starting to feel a bit more real than it had before. It was scary, because… we were getting closer and I- I don’t like getting close to people. Because of what I am.”

“Remus-” Sirius started to say, but the werewolf cut him off.

“No, Sirius. I can’t let people get too close to me because I’m a monster and I dread the day when they find out. I was… scared because Richard looked at me with such _emotion_ and I knew that he wouldn’t look at me like that forever. I wanted to protect him from myself and I wanted to preserve the good feelings rather than hang around to find out what the bad feelings would be like. So, even though it hurt… I broke things off with him.” Remus began to shake his head, “ _Merlin_ , it was so hard to do that. Richard was devastated. He didn’t understand where things had gone wrong. I didn’t want to tell him the truth. So I lied to him, and that hurt even more.”

There was a pause, but Sirius sensed that the story was not finished. He bit his lip worriedly, but Remus cleared his throat and began to continue.

“The night after I broke up with him, I felt rotten. I just wanted to be alone, but James decided to throw a fucking party, and Lily and Marlene brought out that Muggle alcohol. I was feeling bitter and lonely and I wanted to forget everything I’d done and said to Richard, so I drank that stupid fruity one straight from the bottle and hoped for the best.”

Sirius was starting to recognise the story, and after a moment he realised where it was going. He swallowed thickly and urged for Remus to go on.

“So I went back up the dormitory because the room was spinning and I thought I was going to throw up my dinner, and when I came out from the bathroom… you were standing there. You were just as drunk as I was. But you were there and I was lonely and before I knew what I was doing I was kissing you. Fuck… I can barely remember it. It was probably terrible. But the moment I did it I regretted it so much because I thought I’d truly jeopardised our friendship.” Remus hesitated, “You’re the closest friend I have, Sirius. And I seriously thought in that moment that I’d ruined everything.”

Their eyes met, and Sirius began to shake his head, “You didn’t ruin a thing, Moony. I can barely remember it, either. I was too drunk to stand, let alone have a successful snogging session with Remus John Lupin.”

Despite himself, Remus laughed quietly. Sirius reached his hand out placed it on top of Remus’, “So that’s why you spent the next fortnight in the library. You were avoiding me.”

“I thought… I thought things would be better that way.” Remus muttered lamely, “And then Richard found me in the corridor and was harassing me about dating him and I made up the whole lie about dating you. So the whole avoiding-you-thing was a bit of a flop.”

Sirius’ lips twitched into a smile, but he tried to conceal it, “So what happened tonight that made you so upset?”

Remus closed his eyes, “Because I’m afraid. Of how close we’ve become. It’s wrong, Sirius… I shouldn’t be this close to _anyone_.”

“No.” Sirius felt anger flare up in his chest, “Remus. No matter what you say, you will never be a monster in my eyes. Last week you saved a caterpillar from being stepped on by Peter. I don’t _care_ what you are because that does not reflect your true personality. You’ve never hurt me, Moony. Not once. There is no need to be afraid of getting close to me when I am not terrified of _you_ in the slightest.”

Remus’ gaze softened, and he watched Sirius wordlessly. There was a moment of silence, and then Remus murmured, “Thank you, Sirius.”

The werewolf turned his head and looked up at the stars with a small smile on his face. Sirius took the moment to indulge himself and watch his friend, revelling in the way that Remus’ mouth fell open when he studied the stars.

“I can see you.”

“What?” Sirius blinked, turning his face away quickly to conceal his darkening cheeks, “I was just-”

“No,” Remus lifted Sirius’ hand up and pointed it towards the brightest star in the sky, “I mean I can see you. In the sky.”

“ _Oh,_ ” Sirius’ shoulders vibrated with laughter as he realised what his friend was talking about, and Remus was soon laughing alongside him. The sound was magical, and Sirius found it hard to believe that only moments before he had been comforting Remus.

“Do you want to go back to the party?” He asked quietly.

“I think…” Remus paused, “I think I’d rather stay here.”

He was glancing at Sirius hesitantly, but the dark-haired boy nodded quickly, “Okay, Moony. We’ll stay here.”

He turned to glance up at the stars above their heads, although he was hardly paying attention to them. He just didn’t want to be caught staring at Remus again.

A moment later, Sirius felt Remus’ head rest against his shoulder and he glanced down, his heart soaring. The werewolf’s light brown hair was tickling his cheek, but he really didn’t mind.

He didn’t mind at all.

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning- there's the use of a homophobic slur in this chapter!

The Hospital Wing was quiet aside from the sound of Madam Pomfrey’s shoes as she walked across the room to the medicine cabinet.

Remus was sitting up in bed with a mug of hot chocolate in his right hand, his other hand loosely wrapped around Sirius’. The dark-haired boy didn’t say anything from his seat beside the bed. Instead, he just smiled.

James and Peter were in detention with McGonagall for using the Bat Bogey Hex on each other in the middle of a Transfiguration lesson. They’d apologised profusely to Remus for not being able to sit with him in the Hospital Wing, but Sirius seemed to think that the werewolf didn’t really mind.

Sirius had initially been slightly disappointed that the Full Moon had fallen on a Friday evening, as he had been looking forwards to going to Hogsmeade again with Remus- although this was not a thought that he had shared with the werewolf as he knew it was incredibly selfish. Despite this, something told him that Remus had been disappointed as well.

“You’re unusually thoughtful today, Padfoot,” Remus mused. If it had not been the day after a Full Moon, Sirius would have whacked him on the arm.

“I’m incredibly offended, Moony,” Sirius stuck his bottom lip out, “I thought we were at the same intellectual level?”

From behind his hot chocolate mug, Remus snorted, “You tell yourself that if it makes you feel better.”

“You’re incredibly evil,” Sirius pouted, “Why did I agree to be your fake boyfriend again?”

“Who knows?” Remus smirked, “Why did I choose you to be my fake boyfriend again?” “Now, now, Moony. You’re opening doors for some _very_ interesting answers.” Sirius replied with a laugh, and he saw the werewolf’s cheeks turn red. He shook his head with a smile and decided not to torture his friend anymore. Instead, he glanced at the books on the bedside table and frowned.

“Hey! You never read _King Lear_ to me!”

Remus groaned and began to protest, but Sirius smirked, “Come on, Moony. I’ll go and get it from your trunk. It’s going to be a couple of hours before old Pomfrey lets you out of here.”

The sparkle in Remus’ eyes suggested that he was mildly tempted, but he shook his head, “No. Definitely not.”

“We can read it together.” Sirius suggested with a smile, “We’ll take on different characters.”

“What… like role play?” Remus asked hesitantly, and Sirius burst into fits of laughter.

“You dirty old bastard!” He managed between giggles, “Shall I go and get it? I’ll be maximum ten minutes. Can you survive for that long without me, Moony?”

Remus clutched his chest dramatically, “It… may… be… too… much…”

Sirius chuckled, his dark eyes twinkling as he squeezed his friend’s hand and stood up, “Since when did you become so dramatic?”

“Since I became friends with you.” Remus quipped, placing his now-empty mug on the bedside table, “Don’t be too long, _darling_. I can’t stand a second without you.”

Sirius felt the overwhelming urge to swoop down and kiss Remus on the cheek, but he held back. Ever since that night on the Astronomy Tower, he had been cautious about showing Remus how much he cared about him. It was partly because he didn’t want to upset his friend again, but also because a part of him was terrified that Remus really believed that it was all a façade.

He broke away from his thoughts and gave the werewolf a sly wave before turning around and darting out of the Hospital Wing. The castle hallways were almost empty as most students were still in Hogsmeade, but Sirius didn’t find it peaceful. He preferred the hustle and bustle of the corridors to the eeriness of the empty hallways. It made him feel incredibly alone in such a large castle. With a deep inhalation of breath, he picked up the pace and shoved his hands deeper into his pockets.

“Well, well, well,” A smooth voice rang out from the end of the corridor. Sirius didn’t have to raise his head to see who was standing at the end- he recognised that voice anywhere. Having grown up with it all his life, it was difficult to forget.

“Regulus, dearest,” Sirius glanced up at his brother, keeping his expression neutral, “To what do I owe the pleasure? Shouldn’t you be off gallivanting in Hogsmeade with your Slytherin buddies?”

Regulus shrugged his shoulders casually and smirked, “I can’t be going out every weekend, you know. I’ve got studying to be doing.” He paused, “And I was also hoping to find you.”

Sirius found himself sneering, “Why would you want to find me? Got a message from mummy and daddy? I’m not interested.”

He tried to walk past his brother, but Regulus blocked him with his arm.

“I saw you on the pitch the other week,” He began, “Hugging that Remus Lupin after the game.”

Sirius felt his heart thud, but he concealed his fear well, “That’s what friends do, Reg. You wouldn’t know though, seeing as you don’t have any.”

Regulus shook his head with an amused expression, “I was intrigued by the behaviour. So I followed it up… asked around, you know. And someone told me that this guy is your… _boyfriend_.”

Regulus’ lip curled up unattractively when he said the word, and Sirius found himself having to clench his fists to stop himself from lashing out.

“Merlin, you’re slow on the uptake,” He murmured, “It’s been over a month since Remus told everyone.”

“Us Slytherins don’t really listen to gossip,” Regulus remarked, “But that’s beside the point. Do you realise what you’re doing? Is this an attempt just to make our parents even angrier with you?”

“ _Your_ parents,” Sirius quipped, “And- believe it or not, Reg- but I don’t give a fuck about what they say. Because funnily enough, I’m not a part of that family anymore. They disowned me, remember? You were there when she burned my face off the wall, right? Or did I imagine that?”

Regulus stepped forwards, his face reddening with anger, “It’s _disgusting_ , Sirius. You just seem to go against everything that we’ve been taught. Everything that _you_ do is wrong. It’s revolting. To be… going out with a _boy_ … Why?”

Sirius stroked his chin thoughtfully, “Hmm… I wonder… perhaps because I’m attracted to him? That could be a factor, couldn’t it?”

There was a moment of silence as the two brothers stared at each other angrily. Sirius shook his head with a snort, “Well, you clearly don’t have anything intelligent to say. So I’ll be on my way.”

He started to walk down the corridor, but not before Regulus began to speak again.

“Frankly, I’m glad that they disowned you. I’m glad that I don’t have to be related to a _faggot_ like you. It’s truly a real relief that you’re not classified as my brother anymore.”

Suddenly, Sirius felt something snap inside of him. His blood was boiling, his heart was pounding in his chest. He was seeing red. He turned around slowly, his grey eyes narrowing.

“When will you get your head out of mummy’s and daddy’s _fucking_ arses and start thinking for yourself? That’s not your words you’re spouting, Regulus. That’s the words of your fucking ignorant parents who have no real consideration for people or their feelings- all they care about is reputation. You’re just the same as them. And you make me sick. I’m glad I was disowned too, because I don’t want to be associated with our stupid fucking family.”

Without a glance at Regulus’ face, Sirius turned on his heel and made for the Gryffindor Tower.

 

* * *

 

 

It had been longer than ten minutes. In fact, as Remus counted the minutes, it soon became half an hour. Then it became an hour. He was worried- what on Earth had taken Sirius so long? Something was clearly wrong. He had to go and find him.

“Madam Pomfrey?” He cleared his throat, “I’m feeling really… rather well. No aches or pains. I think I’m fit to go.”

She walked over to the end of his bed and narrowed her eyes, “Are you sure, Mr. Lupin? You’re not just trying to get away for something else, are you?”

He shook his head innocently, “James and Peter are in detention. And Sirius is… doing homework. No mischief is likely to take place today.”

She sighed, “Fine, then. Take a Sleeping Draught tonight if the pain returns. I hope not to hear that you’ve been up to anything with your friends.”

“Never, Madam Pomfrey,” Remus smiled sweetly as he pulled a woolly jumper on over his head and thrust his wand into his pocket. He grabbed his books and moved towards the door quickly before she could change his mind.

He hardly noticed the figure standing at the bottom of the moving staircase until he was right in front of it. He frowned in confusion at Regulus, who was looking at Remus with an expression of disgust on his face.

“What can I do for you, Regulus?” He asked politely, although he felt his grip on his books tighten.

“Nothing, Lupin. In fact, I was just chatting with your boyfriend,” Regulus sneered. Remus felt his heart drop a moment before the younger boy laughed darkly, “ _Such_ a family disappointment, I have to say. A gay blood-traitor. Could he have turned out any more _fucked up_?”

“Fuck off,” Remus rammed his shoulder in Regulus and stalked past him, “Don’t go near Sirius again, or I swear to Merlin I will make your life _hell_.”

The words sounded like nothing Remus had ever said before, but he didn’t turn back to see the younger boy’s reaction as he sprinted up the stairs towards the Gryffindor Tower. His blood was boiling- he dreaded to think what Regulus had said to Sirius. He didn’t want to know, anyway- all he wanted was to know that Sirius was okay.

As he approached the door to their dormitory, he slowed down. He didn’t even know if Sirius would be in there. What if he didn’t want to talk to anyone?

But Remus didn’t want to leave Sirius alone. He was scared, and he needed to comfort him. After a moment’s hesitation, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Sirius was sitting on the edge of his bed with his back to Remus. He was sitting completely still and staring at the wall in silence. Slowly, Remus closed the door behind him and placed his books down on James’ bed.

“Sirius?” He asked hesitantly as he approached his friend.

There was silence. Remus decided to take that as a positive sign and tentatively sat down on the bed beside Sirius. The dark-haired boy didn’t move.

“Regulus…” Remus paused, unsure of what to say, “Regulus told me that he spoke to you.”

“Why the fuck would he tell you that?” Sirius murmured. Remus shook his head.

“I… I don’t know.” He sighed, “What did he say?”

“I really don’t want to talk about it,” Sirius responded, but he glanced at Remus hesitantly. The werewolf nodded slowly, “Okay. You don’t have to. That’s okay.”

There was a pause, and then Sirius began to speak again, “I just don’t know what the fuck is wrong with him. He’s just like _them_ , and he seems to think that being any other way is wrong. He’s always been so keen to please them. He never forms his own fucking opinions, and I hate it. I wish he’d listened to me more than them, because perhaps he would have been less ignorant and more accepting. But no. He’s a stupid fucking clone of them and I hate it because it used to be us against the world. And now it’s him against me.”

Seeing Sirius so upset made Remus’ heart contract, and he reached forwards and placed his hand on top of his friend’s, “What did he say, Sirius?”

“He found out about us. And he told me how disgusting I am because I like boys, and he told me he’s glad that mother _dearest_ disowned me because he wouldn’t want to be related to someone like me.” Sirius shook his head, “I knew that my parents wouldn’t accept me. But I never expected _Reg_ to be the same.”

Remus sighed, “Sirius… you tried your best with Regulus. You did _all_ that you could to try and stop him from turning out like your parents. But he’s clearly too focused on pleasing them. I think that… through wanting to please them, he’s forgotten everything that you taught him when you were growing up. Perhaps one day he might realise that his beliefs are flawed… but he might have to do that on his own.”

Beside him, the dark-haired boy was nodding his head quietly, but his eyes were still glassy. He swallowed, “I wish he hadn’t found out. Maybe then… maybe then I wouldn’t have had to see the disgust in my own brother’s eyes. That was the worst part of it all.”

Remus closed his eyes, “Oh, Sirius. I’m so sorry. If I hadn’t decided to use you as my fake boyfriend, Regulus would never have found out. Oh, shit. I’m sorry.”

“No,” Sirius demanded, his voice louder than before, “Remus, this isn’t your fault. Don’t tell yourself that. Why the hell would you think that?”

“It was selfish of me to think that I could just use you as an excuse to get Richard off my back. But now-”

“But now nothing,” Sirius reached his hand out and gently turned Remus’ face so that he could meet the werewolf’s gaze, “It’s not like Regulus cared about me before this happened, Remus. You haven’t done anything wrong. In fact, I’m glad that you chose me to be your fake boyfriend.”

Remus felt his heart falter, “You… you are?”

Sirius’ lips twitched into a smile, and he cocked his head to one side as he studied Remus, “Yes. I know that you hate opening yourself up to people and getting close to them… but I feel like you’ve let me get closer than I’ve ever got before. I’ve seen a different side to you, Moony. I know that it’s all fake, but sometimes… sometimes it feels real. To me.”

His cheeks flushed, and Remus felt his mouth drop open. He stared at his friend, trying to think of a reasonable response, but his brain seemed to be going into overdrive. All of his thoughts were mingling into one. Sirius smiled nervously, and Remus felt his face turn hot.

He had barely noticed how close Sirius’ face had become, and he wondered to himself if they had always been that close. Or had Sirius moved closer in the last few seconds? He couldn’t tell. As his gaze flickered up into Sirius’ grey eyes, a thought struck him. He didn’t want any of it to be fake at all. He swallowed thickly.

“I wish…” The sentence died in his throat, as a moment later Sirius’ mouth was on his. For an instant, Remus was frozen- and then he kissed him back. It was nothing like that drunken kiss on that dreadful night. He wasn’t feeling regretful or sick or dizzy. Instead, the warmth of Sirius’ lips and the sweet taste of his mouth felt so incredibly natural that Remus found himself pulling him closer to him. He could hardly register anything, apart from the fact that _Sirius Black_ was kissing him and it felt amazing.

Sirius pulled back hesitantly as his grey eyes sought Remus’ gaze, “Is this… okay?”

“This is more than okay,” Remus murmured, leaning forwards to kiss Sirius’ smiling lips again. The sensation was euphoric, and he was wondering how he had managed so long without kissing Sirius since the start of their fake relationship. Why had he been so regretful about that first kiss, when this one felt heavenly?

He could feel Sirius’ hand travelling down the front of his chest, and his stomach plummeted. There and then, he wanted nothing more than to lie down on the bed with Sirius and explore every inch of his skin.

The door to the dormitory flew open.

“Fuck!” James shouted as the two boys sprung apart, “Peter! You owe me ten galleons!”

Behind him, Peter groaned loudly and stormed over to his trunk to retrieve the money.

“You lying shits!” Sirius yelled, “You told us you two hadn’t placed any bets!” If Remus had been kissing anyone else, he would have been horrified at being caught by James and Peter. But Sirius’ laughter put him at ease, and he found himself chuckling alongside him.

“You’re both bloody idiots,” James smiled smugly as Peter dropped the coins in his open hand, “The whole of Gryffindor bloody house saw it coming long before you did. Although, I have to say, you took a lot longer than I predicted that you would.” Remus found his cheeks burning as Sirius leant forwards and kissed him on the cheek gently, “Well, what can I say? I want to savour every moment with Moony. I could never rush anything with him.”

In that moment, Remus wanted to kiss Sirius on the lips again, but he felt awkward doing it in front of James and Peter. Instead, he settled on squeezing Sirius’ hand. The smile that Sirius returned to him was more than enough.

 

* * *

 

 

 

As the two boys stepped outside, Remus felt the cold air hit him and he shivered. Sirius, who was huddled up beside him under James’ Invisibility Cloak, turned to him with a sly grin, “Are you warm enough there, Moony? You’re only wearing… is it three jumpers?”

“Shut up,” Remus elbowed him, but he was smiling. In fact, he wasn’t sure if he’d stopped smiling since the early afternoon. Neither had Sirius.

The two boys had decided to take the Invisibility Cloak out in the evening so that they could be alone together without anyone else watching them. For once, they weren’t trying to please their ‘fans’. They simply wanted to be alone.

“We’re clear,” Sirius whispered in his ear, “I think we can take the cloak off.”

A second later he pulled it off, and Remus glanced over at him nervously. Somehow, with the cloak off and the two of them walking across the grass in the open, he felt much more exposed. The nervousness faded away as Sirius reached out and intertwined their fingers gently. The warmth of his skin seeped into Remus’, and he closed his eyes for a moment to revel in the feeling. When he opened his eyes again and glanced self-consciously over at Sirius, he observed that the other boy had closed his own eyes for a brief moment as well. With a small grin, he tugged on Sirius’ hand to gesture that they should keep moving.

They settled for a spot by the Great Lake and sat down on the damp grass side by side. The two of them were silent as they looked at each other, so many unsaid words hanging between them. Remus longed to tell him everything that was on his mind, but he decided that he wouldn’t rush. He could wait.

“It’s so dark tonight,” Sirius murmured, his eyes trained on Remus’. The werewolf smiled softly.

“New moon.” He glanced up at the sky, “The stars look brighter tonight. But none of them are as bright as Sirius.”

“Are you referring to me, or the celestial object billions of light years away?” Sirius’ lips twitched into a smirk before he flopped down onto the grass to study the constellations properly. Remus followed suit, and was amazed by what he saw. Somehow, despite the Astronomy lessons that they’d been having for years, he felt like he was seeing the beauty of the night sky for the first time. His stomach gave a pleasurable squirm as he realised that it was because he was with Sirius.

“What’s your favourite constellation?” He asked quietly, turning his head slightly to watch Sirius.

“Difficult, considering half of them have the same names as my beloved family members,” Sirius mused, “But I’ve always loved Gemini. Those twins are never separated… something about the fact that they’ve stayed together for all this time in the sky… it gives me hope. Somehow, I know I’ll never be alone.”

He was pointing at the constellation, but Remus wasn’t looking at the sky. His eyes were on Sirius’ face, and he was finding it difficult to tear his gaze away. “You know…” Remus murmured, “I never told you what my ideal date was.”

Sirius turned his head with a sly grin, “You’re skilled at the art of avoiding questions, Moony.”

“I’ve been in training for many years,” Remus paused, “Remember when Dorcas and Marlene asked how we started dating? And you told her-”

“I told her that we’d been stargazing by the lake.” Sirius finished, his grey eyes twinkling.

“Well…” Remus gulped, “Ever since you said that… I just couldn’t get the idea out of my head. The idea of sitting with you under the stars seemed perfect. So when you asked that day in Hogsmeade… I was too embarrassed to tell you.”

Sirius studied Remus silently for a moment, and then his free hand reached out and brushed the werewolf’s cheek gently, “Is it as perfect as you imagined?”

Remus could feel Sirius’ warm breath on his lips, and it sent a thrill through his spine. He leant forwards slightly and whispered softly, “More than perfect.”

They both paused for a moment, and then their mouths met. It was the gentlest kiss that Remus had ever experienced- not only were Sirius’ lips soft, but his touch on Remus’ face was so tender that the werewolf suddenly found himself overcome with emotion. His eyes stung with tears, and he pulled away slightly.

“What’s the matter?” Sirius asked, his grey eyes wide with concern, “Did I do something?”

“No,” Remus shook his head, “You didn’t do anything bad, Padfoot. I just… This. Us. I feel a bit like I’m dreaming.”

Sirius’ lips twitched into a smile, “Funny… so do I.”

“And I just… I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way about anyone before.” Remus murmured, and he suddenly found words tumbling out of his mouth with no filter, “And I’ve never felt so _cared for_ by someone else. Not like this.”

His words settled into the air, and there was a moment of silence. Sirius shook his head, “Moony, if only you knew what you meant to me. You’re the brightest star in _my_ sky.”

They kissed again- more urgently than before- and although they were lying down on the grass on a cold winters night and Remus was thinking that he _really ought to be cold_ , he was the warmest he’d ever felt. His lips parted, and Sirius leant closer to him, holding the werewolf’s face in both of his hands. Their bodies moved closer together, and as Sirius tried to balance himself, he suddenly rolled across onto Remus’ body.

Remus squeaked, “Wow.”

“Moony,” Sirius moaned with a sly grin, “I just can’t control myself around you. You’ve _changed_ me. You’re… such a _beast_.”

“And you’re gross.”

Both boys burst into fist of laughter, unable to control themselves. Sirius flopped across the werewolf’s chest as he tried to catch his breath, but he was unsuccessful in doing so. Remus could feel Sirius laughing into the crook of his neck, and the sensation tickled his skin, causing him to burst into further fits of giggles.

“Forget it!” Sirius shouted, “You’re not a beast, Remus Lupin. You’re adorable. I can’t believe how ticklish you are.”

As his fingers reached towards Remus’ waist, the werewolf yelped, “No, Padfoot! Don’t tickle me! Please!”

“Why not?” Sirius pouted, and Remus grabbed onto his wrists, “Anything but that!”

The dark-haired boy laughed, “You’d be terrible if you were ever tortured for information. They’d just tickle you and you would confess your darkest secrets.”

“I didn’t realise that tickling was a genuine method of torture, Pads,” Remus smirked, “Is that on the same list as the Cruciatus curse?”

Sirius grinned wickedly, “Oh, it’s at the top. If I ever become a world class villain and you’re my prisoner, it will be the first thing I use.”

Remus felt a blush creep up his neck, “That sounds oddly like role play, Sirius.”

Sirius started to laugh again, and he rolled off of Remus to study his blushing cheeks. After he had observed the pinkness of the werewolf’s face, he winked, “It can be whatever you want it to be, Moony.”

Remus found himself giggling again, and he reached out and whacked Sirius around the head. The dark-haired boy was no longer laughing, but watching Remus fondly with a twinkle in his grey eyes. As Remus finally caught his breath, he studied Sirius’ face with a small smile on his face. He longed to kiss him again, but instead reached out and held onto Sirius’ hand.

They sat in silence for a while, both with lazy grins on their faces as they looked at each other. The stars were reflected in Sirius’ grey eyes, and Remus found himself wondering just how one person could be so beautiful. His heart swelled at the thought that Sirius was _his_ , and a moment later he started to speak.

“Padfoot.”

“Yes, Moony?” Sirius murmured quietly with a grin. Remus leant closer to the other boy and cleared his throat nervously.

“How would you feel… I mean… What do you think about…” He shook his head in frustration, but Sirius only laughed. He leant forwards and kissed Remus on the tip of his nose, “I thought you were supposed to be the intellectual one out of the two of us, Moony.”

“Shut up,” Remus muttered, but he couldn’t help smiling. He kissed Sirius’ nose in return before he tried again, “Be my real boyfriend.”

“My, my,” Sirius beamed, and his cheeks turned slightly pink, “How forward of you, Remus.” Remus groaned in embarrassment, but a part of him was also worried that he was about to face rejection. He closed his eyes.

“Why are you closing your eyes, you idiot?” Sirius kissed him on the lips, startling him and causing his eyes to fly open, “Of course I’ll be your real boyfriend.” There was a pause, “It’s nice to know that it will all be real. To both of us.”

Remus’ hand reached up and tucked a loose strand of Sirius’ dark hair behind his ear with a smile on his face, “Yes. I wonder if everyone will wonder why we’ve refrained from snogging each other until now?”

Sirius stroked his chin thoughtfully, “Well, Moony, I have been wondering the same thing myself. You are pretty irresistible.”

Remus felt his cheeks glow, but he didn’t mind. He moved his mouth closer to Sirius’ ear and whispered, “So are you. Overpoweringly so.”

They looked at each other in silence, and their lips met once again. As they laid there kissing underneath the light of the stars and absorbing the warmth from each other, Remus decided that he had never been happier than in that moment.

With Sirius’ arms wrapped around him, he felt as though he would never be unhappy again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who read and commented on this! I hope everyone enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!


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